Arda 4e - Scales of War

human

Ambitious, driven, pragmatic—a race of heroes, and also a race of villains.

Average Height: 5’6" – 6’2"Average Weight: 135 – 220 pounds

Of all the civilized races, humans are the most adaptable and diverse. Human settlements can be found almost anywhere, and human morals, customs, and interests vary greatly.

PHYSICALQUALITIES

Eyes: Wide range, most often brown, blue or hazel.

Hair: Wide range, most often black, brown, or a range of blonds and reds.

Skin: Wide range, from black or dark brown to very pale, and almost all tans and browns in between.

Build: Wide range, from slight to burly, athletic to obese, short to tall, wiry to muscular.

Features: Male facial hair varies by culture and ethnicity; other facial features may also depend on ethnicity.

Aging: Reach maturity at 16-20 years old, and live an average of 75 years (though some rare individuals reach 90 or more).

Environment, society and ethnicity play a large role on human clothing and equipment, and humans have many different ethnicities and cultures, in many cases side by side, which makes humans tend to be more varied than any other race, with a larger set of designs and styles than other races.

HUMANATTITUDES

Humans tend to be impulsive but decisive. A zeal for dangerous and risky propositions, combined with an ambition for knowledge and power, leads humans to explore every corner of the world, dashing headlong into peril, then dealing with the situation as it unfolds. More often than not, that same impulsive nature, combined with a racial bent for invention and improvisation, results in success.

Ambition has been a human trait as long as anyone can remember, seeking power and rule over the world. The brightest spots of civilization tend to be human cities, as do the deepest frontier explorer villages.

The human tendency towards bravery and self-reliance, as well as an interest in hidden or inner strength, biases humanity to martial classes, particularly fighters, rogues and warlords.

Views on Other Races: Modern humanity is shaped by the empire of Nerath, despite that last great world power’s fall a century ago. Nerath rose from the ashes of prior civilizations, but united many peoples, welcoming survivors from lost lands or overrun settlements, especially elves and dwarves. The remaining human settlements are frequently those walled cities that survived Nerath’s fall by relying on their own defense and on their neighbors.

Views on Religion: Humans tend toward piety, and worship the entire pantheon. No common myth of human creation is known, though some rumors suggest the race was birthed by a god whose name is lost (perhaps slain in the Dawn War against the primordials or murdered by a jealous god, often purported to be Asmodeus or Zehir). Yet another minor myth suggests the possibility of the gods creating humanity in unison, imbuing them with some traits of their precursors.

Reasons for Adventuring: While Nerath was a world power, modern humans are divided and lack a cohesive identity. Most commonly, humans consider themselves as part of whatever authority figure is most vocal nearby, resulting in the ruins of a once-monolithic nation dissolving into dozens of small kingdoms, and hundreds of fiefdoms and free cities, many of which are insular, isolated and nearly defenseless.